Legal Definitions - Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its primary role is to ensure that surface coal mining operations across the United States are conducted in an environmentally responsible manner and that mined lands are properly restored. OSM achieves this by enforcing federal laws and regulations designed to prevent environmental damage from mining, and by providing support and oversight to state and local governments, which often have the direct responsibility for regulating mining activities and reclaiming affected sites.

Here are some examples illustrating the work of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement:

• Enforcing Reclamation Standards: A coal company operating in Kentucky completes its mining operations on a large tract of land but fails to properly backfill the pits and re-vegetate the area with native plant species, leaving behind an unstable landscape prone to erosion. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement would investigate this non-compliance, issue citations, and potentially impose fines or require the company to complete the necessary reclamation work to meet federal standards, thereby protecting the local environment and water quality.

• Supporting State Regulatory Programs: The state of Ohio, which has its own approved program for regulating surface coal mining, identifies a need for advanced training for its inspectors on new technologies for treating acid mine drainage. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement would provide technical assistance, funding, and expert guidance to Ohio's state program, helping to enhance the state's capacity to effectively regulate mining operations and ensure environmental protection.

• Addressing Abandoned Mine Lands: In a rural area of Pennsylvania, an old coal mine abandoned decades ago, before modern environmental regulations were in place, has left behind dangerous open shafts and a large pile of waste rock that is leaching acidic chemicals into a nearby stream. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement would partner with the state's abandoned mine land program, providing federal grants and technical expertise to fund and oversee projects to seal the dangerous shafts, stabilize the waste pile, treat the polluted water, and reforest the area, making the land safe and environmentally sound once again.